Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy asked about funding. Deputy Troy asked the same question earlier and I did not answer him. The funding will come from the current resources of the NTA. There will not be an additional charge on the Exchequer for the current funding of the pilot scheme.

I do not blame Deputy Munster for asking operational questions. I would do the same if I was in opposition. I am not responsible for answering such questions. I know that the Deputy would like answers to her questions, but they should be addressed elsewhere. If she has any difficulty getting those answers, I presume I will be able to get them for her.

The NTA will measure this, and I have asked if it will carry out an interim report after three months. It has agreed to do so. I want to monitor the situation very closely and see how it is operating. I am not going to tell it exactly how to measure it because it has experts on routes and services who will do that work. This will alleviate rural isolation. That is the criteria. This is being done to ensure that people are happier, more comfortable and have better social lives in rural Ireland, and to recognise that the problem needs to be remedied. If we were spending millions on one route, the Deputy would be quite right to come to the committee and say that we are wasting money and that there has to be a balance. The thrust and motivation behind this is not commercial at all, however, but rather to make people happier, to ensure they have better social lives and to ensure they are better connected. I am not saying that it will be done at the drop of a hat, but ultimately we want to reduce rural isolation. That is the metric we should use. Where there are new routes which are doing that, we should continue them and extend them. Thirty of the new routes are going to be demand-responsive, meaning that the service will call to the doors of customers in certain circumstances to make sure that they can get out. That is a pretty demand-responsive action.

I take the point Deputy Munster made about closing times. I am not very good with pub opening hours. If pubs close at 11.30 p.m. and the last buses are before that time, people's ability to enjoy themselves as others can is probably reduced. I will ask the NTA to consider that when the pilot scheme concludes and consider whether there is a demand for the service to go on later. I believe that is reasonable. Deputy Troy mentioned that issue as well. If that is a difficulty, it can be examined.